Monthly Archives: January 2016

An amazing sight in Yallingup yesterday!
From Alsace (where I come from in France) to Australia, in a very remote little spot on the coast of Western Australia: Kugelhopf!
And the Linzer Torte slice was yummy too! Eaten before I thought about taking a picture…

This is yet another recipe for blood plum cake. I call it BLOOD PLUM CAKE V3.
It’s actually almond cake with plums and the recipe is from Coles magazine. I used Garnet plums (the ones from the Fresh Produce photo last week. Even though I have discovered this morning there are not actually Garnet plums, but a mysterious breed of plums. My fruit supplier doesn’t know what variety it is, he planted the trees among the Garnet plum trees he got…. He called it “watermelon plums”).
Very nice and moist cake. I made it Friday, and it’s gone already, dispatched to good homes!

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Coat a 23cm round springform pan with butter.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and 2/3 cup (150g) sugar on medium speed until light and creamy. Gradually beat in the almond meal. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix in the Grand Marnier, orange zest, almond essence, baking powder and salt. Reduce the speed to low and mix in the flour until just blended. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan.

In a small bowl, toss the plum wedges with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Gently place the plum wedges on top of the batter. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Eat!

I used a normal 23cm square cake tin, not a springform tin. I was careful when I transferred it to a plate.
I would have put more plum wedges on top. And you can push them a bit in the batter, rather than just putting them on top. I hate almond essence, so that didn’t go in.
It took about 1 hour to cook properly in my oven.

In a large bowl , mix the cream, eggs and brandy or cognac. Add the bread, salt, pepper and a good pinch of tarragon (to taste). Soak for about 15 minutes to soften the bread.

Add the salmon, reserving a few chunks. Blend or process the mixture. Add the reserved pieces of salmon and the prawns, stir.

Pour into the ovenproof dish and bake for about 2 hours in a bain-marie.

Cool in the dish.

Eat!

Keep an eye towards the end of the cooking as the top may brown (just put a piece of alfoil on top). It will come out of the oven nicely puffed but will deflate later.
You can eat this warm with a homemade tomato sauce or cold with a homemade mayonnaise and lemon. Delicious!
It will keep in the fridge for a few days.

On top of having impeccable fashion taste, I also have a regal sense of home decorating and I love nothing more than arranging timeless pieces of homewares around my house. And trust me, these are must-haves in any modern home!